Is Sourav Ganguly The Best Indian Captain Ever?

Is Sourav Ganguly The Best Indian Captain Ever? Well, here are 10 reasons which prove that he is certainly right up there as far as the list of Indian Captains is concerned.

Indian Cricket Team since it’s reminiscence has witnessed numerous captains who have brought forth laurels and recognition.

There has been a lot of ups and downs in the team pertaining to the captains appointed. Starting from Kapil Dev to Virat Kohli, many captains have come and gone but there has been only one name that has been etched with gold in the memory of Indian Cricket Team and the name is Sourav Ganguly.

Captains can be cool but leaders are aggressive. One such leader was the prince of Kolkata. In the early 2000s, It was one of the worst phases for Indian Team. India was in hot waters with Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja pertaining to the match-fixing scandal. Sachin one of the experienced batsman was not willing to hold the captain’s tag with him.

A lot of youngsters like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were yet to be subjected to the game as they were very naive. No successful and responsible individual come into view to serve the voids of Jadeja and Azharuddin. Bowlers like Zaheer and Agarkar were new to the team.

Image Source: India Times

But Ganguly came as a blessing, very firm to take the role of a responsible captain. And from then there was no looking back but he made the frame and the players who formed the formidable Indian Cricket Team.

People often debate a lot about who is the best captain to have served Team India. Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of the team, no doubt with lots of silverware to his name but no one can deny it was Ganguly who made Team India and made them believe they can win on foreign soils. Let’s look at some points that prove that some captaincy decisions taken by Ganguly which prove him to be one of the best. Is Sourav Ganguly the best Indian Captain ever? Well, that’s for you to judge but let’s find out.

1) Ganguly sent VVS Laxman to replace Rahul Dravid at No 3 in the famous 2001 Kolkata Test against Australia.

Laxman scored 281* and the rest is history: Remember the 2001 December Border Gavaskar Trophy. Might give you goosebumps. WriterAlert : *It was my first match to watch live on the stadium and I still get Goosebumps on its thought* There can be no test match ever as great as that! There can be no better-captained innings than by Sourav Ganguly in this match.

Source: DNA India

There can be no better partnership ever than an epic 376-run partnership between V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid. India was forced to take a follow-on, and on the fourth day, Ganguly took the important decision to send VVS Laxman ahead of Dravid as he was not having a great series. And Laxman certainly did not disappoint his captain by responding with a humongous 281* and as a result, India cruised to a 171 run victory which had looked impossible at one point in time. This also happened to be the first test match in history which was won after a team was following on.